Fincke reported to the Johnson Space
Center in 1996 to complete two years of
training and evaluation. At NASA, he was
assigned technical duties in the Astronaut
Office Station Operations Branch, where he
served as International Space Station Capsule
Communicator, a member of the Crew Test
Support Team in Russia and as the space station
Crew Procedures team lead.
His first mission took place on Expedition
9 in April 2004, when he arrived at the
International Space Station aboard the Soyuz
TMA-4 spacecraft after launching from the
Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Fincke
and crew spent six months aboard the station,
performing numerous maintenance operations
and conducting four space walks.
“There is nothing like it,” says Fincke of space
flight. “Being able to see our planet—the most
beautiful planet in the solar system—from space
is remarkable. I’m a lucky guy.”
In 2008, Fincke commanded Expedition
18, which also launched from the Baikonur
Cosmodrome. On this mission, Fincke and his
crew helped to prepare the station for future
crews and also hosted two other space shuttle
crews. Expedition 18 returned to Earth on April
8, 2009.
Fincke’s last space flight was in 2011, when
he served as mission specialist aboard the final
flight of the Space Shuttle Endeavor. On this
mission, Fincke and crew delivered the Alpha
Magnetic Spectrometer, a state-of-the-art
cosmic ray physics detector, to the ISS.
As someone who has quite literally been
around the world, Fincke attributes his success
to the work ethic he developed while living in
Pittsburgh.
“People from Pittsburgh aren’t afraid to work
hard or to get their hands dirty,” he says. “That
work ethic definitely contributed to my later
success.”
He says that the generosity of Pittsburghers,
combined with the extensive educational
opportunities the city offers, contributed to his
ability to pursue his dream.
“The museums, the schools, the colleges –
until you go outside of the area, you don’t really
appreciate how great our city is,” he says.
Harking back to his days visiting the former
Buhl Planetarium as a child, Fincke remains
a staunch supporter of the Carnegie Science
Center, where he’s delivered talks to hundreds of
local students.
“It’s a small way I can give back, after all the
city has done for me,” he says.
Over the course of his career so far, he’s spent
381 days, 15 hours and 11 minutes in space and
has completed nine spacewalks. Until NASA
astronaut Scott Kelly returned from orbit this
past October, Fincke held the record for the
most number of days in space. He’s earned two
NASA Distinguished Service Medals and three
NASA Spaceflight Medals, among other special
honors and awards.
A husband and father of three, Fincke is
acutely aware of the sacrifices and inherent
dangers that accompany his passion. He even
missed the birth of his second child while he
was in space.
“It’s not easy what families of military
personnel have to go through,” he
acknowledges. “We do it to help our country
and our planet. We do it for our children, and to
keep our planet safe.”
Fincke hasn’t ruled out another spaceflight,
and is currently based at the Johnson Space
Center, where he’s working with Boeing and
SpaceX to design new “commercial crew”
spaceships that will eventually travel to the
International Space Station.
“Being an astronaut is everything that I
thought it would be,” says Fincke. “Not everyone
is so lucky to have achieved their life’s goal.” n
Sewickley | Summer 2016 | icmags.com 11